


Forbidden

by NothingButCinders



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blood, Child Abuse, F/M, Major Character Injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-07
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-07 06:58:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7704847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NothingButCinders/pseuds/NothingButCinders
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>From what she could remember, she had spent her entire life inside this stuffy fortress in the middle of nowhere. All that she wanted was the chance to leave, and it was right there in the form of the close to unmoveable wall which was the crown prince. </i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A broken sword

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea all of a sudden last night. I had to write it down as soon as possible.  
> It will probably be crappy.

“Father may forbid you from ever leaving the fortress  if you fail to land attack today, Corrin.” The look on the crown prince’s  was definitely not one that indicated joking around – he was more than serious. “ Now come! Attack me!”

Corrin took in a deep breath, and tightened her grasp of the sword. From what she could remember, she had spent her entire life inside this stuffy fortress in the middle of nowhere. All that she wanted was the chance to leave, and it was right there in the form of the close to unmoveable wall which was the crown prince. 

One of her bare feet moved back a slight bit, indicating that she was about to attack. Though her fighting style was odd, with her jumping around and running on her toes, it was easy to read after a short while.  Xander had been teaching her in the way of the sword ever since her thirteenth birthday – making it seven years since this training had began – and he knew exactly where to anticipate her first attack. She always went straight for the shoulder wielding a weapon first, in an attempt to disorient and confuse. Xander brought his sword up, and deflected the initial blow. He hadn’t been expecting her to go back  to hit him there another three times in rapid succession, but either way, he still managed to block the rest of them.

Once her feet were securely back on the ground, Corrin gritted her teeth.  She  _ had  _ to attack Xander, she  _ had  _ to earn her freedom…

For another few minutes, swords clashed repeatedly. Xander kept making contact with Corrin, but Corrin failed to get her sword to touch him.

“Please… big brother...” Corrin looked close to tears as she braced herself once more. “Do you do this on purpose?! Do you  _ want  _ me to stay imprisoned here?!” She looked furious as she let out another flurry of attacks, catching the crown prince by surprise. “It’s so  _ lonely!  _ It’s just me, Jakob, Felicia, Flora,  Lilith, and Gunter! It’s the same routine day in, day out! Wake up, eat, lessons, eat, train, eat, sleep! You, Camilla, Leo, and Elise hardly ever visit! Father visits like, once a year! I… I don’t want to stay here!”

From the sidelines, Leo was looking in concern at the way in which Corrin seemed to be lashing out now. Her face was stained with tears, and her hair was billowing everywhere because of the ferocity in which she was attacking. Then he noticed her sword.

“ _ Sister!  _ Look out-!” 

The sword had been brittle, and ended up shattering. Because she never made proper contact with Xander’s armour, she ended up continuing to fall forward, and  crashed  onto the ground. Despite her armour, there was no doubt that she had been badly injured from the impact.

In a matter of seconds, Xander had discarded his weapon and was kneeling down beside Corrin on the floor. Leo was startled at what had happened, wondering why he hadn’t seen the state of her sword earlier.

“Little princess, are you okay?!” Xander took hold of her shoulders and  lifted her up slightly. There was a gash across the entire left side of her face, from when she had ended up skidding across the floor after the impact. The floor was horribly rough (it was a shock that her feet weren’t in a similar state) and was a definite contributor to the wound too. “Leo, get help. Now!”

It definitely didn’t help that Corrin had ended up being knocked unconscious by the fall, and it intensified Xander’s worry greatly.  He did know that it was a bad idea to leave her outside though, especially with how cold it was in Nohr, so he ended up lifting her up and quickly made his way inside  as fast as he could.  It wasn’t long before Camilla came along, and worriedly pulled her away from him to make sure that she was safe and well.

Camilla refused to move from Corrin’s side for the next few hours as she remained unconscious. Not long after Xander had brought her there, Jakob, Flora, and Felicia had ended up tending to the injury. It had taken almost an hour for the injury to be properly cared for, and something worrying had come up, which is why Camilla wanted to be there for when she woke up.

Once all of the blood had been cleaned up, and the wound had been healed with a staff, Flora decided that it would be best to check on the state of her eye, considering that the scrape had stretched over her eyelid. Corrin’s eye had clouded over – what was once a vivid red colour was now like a hazy pink. That brought up the concern that the princess may wake up without her sight in that eye. Camilla just wanted to reassure her sister that everything would be okay if that were the case – she was in a similar situation too, because of an attack which she had ended up in the middle of because of a fight which had broke out between her mother and a few other of Garon’s concubines when she was only young.

“My dear little sister… I promise you, I will be here for you no matter what...” She stroked the side of Corrin’s face  which wasn’t bandaged, and then smiled. “If you can’t see after this, don’t you worry, sweetie. Elise and I can help you style your hair to cover the scar, and we can get Leo to read to you, just like when we were all younger! And I am  _ sure  _ that Xander will help you learn how to navigate properly, with some of your vision gone...”

It was at that moment where the door opened, and a figure larger than most others appeared in the doorway. Camilla looked up, and noticed that Gunter was stood there, his face creased into a deep frown. “Lady Camilla, you are being requested to visit the dining room. King Garon has made a personal visit to the fortress, and is wanting to speak to you and your other siblings. He has also brought your retainers with him, meaning that it is something of great urgency which he wishes to discuss.”

“But what about-?!” Camilla ended up taking hold of Corrin’s hand, and looked up at the knight with concern. “I do not want to leave my poor darling on her own in such a state!”

“Lady Camilla, you cannot argue. This is your father’s request, and not my own.”

Angrily, the older princess stood up and pushed her way past Gunter, muttering to herself as she did as she was asked. She had asked not to be disturbed, and  _ of course  _ Garon had to have showed up at exactly that moment. All that she wanted was to dote over her little sister!

Everyone who was waiting for Camilla ended up flinching as she ended up throwing the dining room door open, Elise having the worst reaction because of the way in which she clung onto Arthur and Effie’s arms at the loud slam. Xander glared the purple haired woman for a moment, before letting out a quiet sigh.

“Good… All of my children are here now.” A deep laugh reverberated around the room, sending shivers down the spines of royals and retainers alike. Garon had always had that sort of affect on people when he was like this. His eyes were wide with amusement at the slight fear in the roo m’s atmosphere, and a wide grin was on his face. “As you know… This morning, I had Xander put Corrin through a test to determine her worthiness to leave the fortress. She  _ failed,  _ and so, I believe that I should tell you all the truth.”

“The truth? Father, have you been-?!”

“ _Silence, Leo.”_ Garon glared at his youngest son, before he rose to his feet. “Corrin is _not_ one of us. She is _not_ a Nohrian royal. This test today was to allow me to determine whether I truly accept her amongst us, and allow her to become a part of this family – this is what Anankos decreed. Corrin has been a prisoner of war. Is a _Hoshidan_ princess.” There was bitterness in the king’s voice as he mentioned that Corrin was Hoshidan. Camilla’s eyes grew wide, and Elise jumped up in shock. Xander looked at the floor with a shameful look upon his face, and Leo noticed this. “And as she failed the test… _She_ _cannot be a part of our family._ She is now to be treated as the prisoner she is, and we shall be letting Hoshido know this quite bluntly.”

Xander stood up then, and slammed his fist onto the table. A glass of water ended up tipping over, and a candle was quickly saved from falling and setting the table on fire by Laslow.  “But father, her sword was damaged! I demand to re-test her upon her recovery from her injuries, with a newly forged sword which is-!”  Garon stood up and copied his son’s actions, his face red with anger.

“ _Xander!_ You shall _not_ question both myself and Anankos!” The king was growing impatient with his children, and their constant questioning of him. “Corrin is now to be treated as the prisoner that she is, and is to be kept under lock and key in her room. She is no daughter of mine, or sister of yours… She no longer has the rights to have that sort of luxury. All of you are to return to castle Krakenburg in the morning… And you are never to return to the fortress or see _her_ again once you leave.”

G aron ended up leaving the room after that, leaving the siblings and retainers all stood there in slight shock. Elise had burst into tears, and no reassurances from Arthur, Effie, Xander, or Camilla could possibly calm her down. She loved Corrin too much to just separate herself just like that, and she didn’t want to accept what Garon had been saying. 

Leo stared at his hands for a moment, before clamping his eyes shut. It was both an attempt to hold back tears and also to question himself over not seeing her sword’s damage earlier, but he didn’t want anyone to know the first reason. He then slammed his fist into the table loudly, and stormed out of the room. He had to see Corrin before the morning. He needed to find a way for her to wake up and escape  before his father had her locked up for goo d.

Many hours were spent with Leo sat in the library contemplating what to do, his retainers hovering around him as he wrote down various different plans. One of them was to refuse to leave the fortress until Garon gave up on his plan, but he knew that his father would take that as insolence and likely have them executed, or at the very least, punished. Camilla’s words ran through his head at the thought of that - ‘ _ Father never forgets a slight’. _

His best idea came to him at about midnight though, because of Niles suddenly appearing before him to inform him of the time. It was so simple… And the only person who needed to know about it other than Corrin was stood right there before him.

“Lord Leo? Have you finally read yourself to the point of insanity?”

Leo shook his head, before standing up and looking his retainer directly in the eye.“No, Niles… I haven’t. I just found a way to keep Corrin safe from father.”

“Oh? Do tell me more, you rebellious little prince...” Niles seemed intrigued at seeing Leo go so clearly against Garon’s orders, with an eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face to show this.

The prince quickly walked past his retainer then, and gestured for him to follow. He was going to Corrin’s room, and was hoping that she was awake. He didn’t want to risk letting Niles or Corrin know this plan when there was anyone else nearby,  _ especially  _ not his father or any of the small group working at the fortress.  Corrin’s door was slightly ajar when he got there, and he peered through the gap to see if anything was going on. 

His glance didn’t go unnoticed, as the door was quickly flew open when he backed away slightly, and familiar white hair fell into his line of sight. “Leo! Oh- Oh phew… I was scared… Camilla had warned me that something bad was going to happen soon, and f- for me to be wary of father approaching my room...” Leo couldn’t help but have his mouth fall open at the sight of Corrin’s face as she stepped outside a slight bit. She noticed him looking, and then moved her hand to touch the bandages which were covering her eye. “It’s gone...”

Niles couldn’t help but get curious then, and walked past Leo just to poke the bandages. Leo batted his retainer’s hand away after that. “ _ Niles, don’t.” _

“Don’t worry, Leo… It doesn’t hurt. Felicia and Flora used some ice to numb this side of my face a few minutes ago…” She then looked around with worry, hoping that Garon wasn’t nearby, before inviting the two inside her room. “Help yourself to some tea if you want… I asked Jakob to make me a really strong one which can keep me awake all night before.”

“No thank you, Corrin… I have only come here to explain something to you.” Leo stated, before sitting down on a seat which was near her bed.

“Explain something? Is this to do with why Camilla asked for me to keep an eye out for father, because she was really vague with her reasons why…”

Leo nodded, before watching as Corrin sat back down and took a sip of a cup of tea resting on her bedside table. “Father wants to  _ truly  _ imprison you now. He wants to keep you locked in this room for the rest of your life, and take away all of your luxuries… Because you ended up injuring yourself against Xander, and...” Leo gulped, before deciding that perhaps he would have a drink of tea. He was going to be the one who broke the news to her, and he didn’t want to say it bluntly. He knew that he had to be gentle with her, especially with such a revelation. “And because… We aren’t related… You are Hoshidan royalty, Corrin. Not Nohrian...”

Corrin’s cup shattered on the floor, spilling tea all over the legs of the three in the room, and there was the sound of her trying to hold back tears. “A- And… Are you going to j- just tell me that you are just g- going to forget about the years which we have-?!”

“No. Far from it, Corrin. It has been too long, and I refuse to have father just dismiss you like this. You truly are family to me, and to Xander, Camilla, and Elise. But… You can’t stay here, or else you are going to be a prisoner for the rest of your life. We are being forbidden from ever seeing you again once morning comes, and I refuse to let that be the last time that we see you.”  Leo held out his hand to get Corrin to stand up, before he then embraced her. “Corrin… If I offered you a chance to escape before it is too late, would you take me up on my offer?”

Niles had never seen Leo so emotional before that point, not even when it came to the many executions and torture sessions he had been made to attend in his past. The retainer also realised now as to why he had been brought along to see Corrin too – he was going to be key in the plan to help her in escaping.

“I- I would… I don’t want to even see father after hearing that… A- And I don’t want to stay trapped here, I have longed to leave this dreary place for so long!”

“Right. I need you to do this for me then… Check to see if you have any sort of hooded cloak in your clothes, and pull it on, and  _ please  _ put on a pair of shoes. I know you don’t like footwear, but it is necessary because there are many traps all over Nohr which can hurt you –  caltrops in particular. Once you have done that, I want you to leave the fortress in the shadows with Niles. He is one of the most nimble and sneakiest people I know, if not the best. Get as far away from here as possible, and do  _ not  _ let people know who you are. The Nohrian people know that there is a princess called Corrin, and people named after royals have suspicion easily cast upon them. Take up a new identity, if necessary. Perhaps it would be best for you to leave Nohr territory entirely…  Maybe… You can reunite with your... true family… Become part of the Hoshidan royal family once more...”


	2. Bloodied hands

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would have tried to update this sooner, but... My Google drive, which has my writing saved on it, hasn't been refreshing as often as it normally does. It has been pushing me to the limits of my temper, because it was a miracle if I ended up being able to pull up the up to date version of the chapter I had wrote on my computer on my tablet... So I've just ended up with this slight mess of a chapter that I'll probably neaten up once I decide to find somewhere else to save my writing... Maybe it will be worth giving onedrive a go.  
> Anyway, be warned, because there's a bit of blood later on in the chapter... And also Garon being the horrible father he is.

Leo had watched Corrin’s escape from the fortress with Niles about an hour after he had explained his plan, and from there on, he remained awake. His father had brought all eight retainers belonging to the siblings, and there was no doubt that he was expecting for there to be eight when they had to leave the fortress. He needed to find an excuse for Niles’ absence, and quickly.

_Hoshidans had discovered the fortress and took Corrin , and he was trying to lure them away but return her ?_

_He had seen Corrin slipping away, and was chasing after her to bring her back?_

No excuse he could come up with were possible to slip past his father… Unless it wasn’t _him_ who explained. Odin would be the perfect person to talk about Niles’ absence, with his dramatic flair that he was very adept at adding. Before he could even go to request such a thing from his remaining retainer though, a violent quake went through the fortress, and he didn’t need to investigate to realise what that was about.

Silently, he stepped outside the library, feigning confusion as he noticed Camilla, Selena, and Felicia from down the hall. Camilla was quick to rush over to him and take hold him in an overly tight hug. “Little brother, have you heard?! Corrin, she-” The tightness of the hug was enough to make Leo groan. “She’s vanished!”

As he pushed Camilla off him, he continued his act and made his eyes widen. “What do you mean, _vanished_? You know, only Hoshidan ninja are capable of ‘vanishing’, sister.”

“As in she is _missing._ Overnight, she slipped away and has disappeared! She is out there all alone, no experience of the outside world!”

“And king Garon _isn’t_ happy. He almost executed Gunter on the spot for not keeping an eye on her!”

_Leo finally had his excuse._

“I tell you what – I’ll send Niles to look outside the castle walls for her. For all that we know, she may have gone onto the roof or something, and is completely unaware of what was meant to happen to her. And if he doesn’t find her… He isn’t to return.”

* * *

 

“So… What happened to your eye?” Corrin knew that if she was going to be accompanied with one of Leo’s retainers for the foreseeable future, she might as well get to know them. “I think your eye-patch looks good. Maybe I would look good with one when I can take these silly bandages off...”

Niles ended up disregarding what she had said by waving his hand about, before turning to face her. “You don’t need to know that. There is a _very_ unsavoury story behind what happened to my eye, and I don’t want to taint your innocence with something like that.” He ended up smirking at the angry pout on her face because of him calling her innocent, and the stomp of her foot following that made him feel even better.

Corrin was quick to storm ahead then, grumbling to herself as she moved. All that she had done was ask him about his eye! She jumped over a tree branch, before she stared at it with wide eyes. Niles was watching her in curiosity, aware that this would have been her first proper time outside the Northern Fortress. In a way, he viewed her as a ‘ _vi_ _rgin to the outside world.’_ Of course, he knew that he would have to stop her… eventually. “That way leads to the Bottomless Canyon. If you us to be taken prisoner by the Hoshidans, go right ahead!” Then he had a fun thought. “I wonder how stimulating Hoshidan methods of torture are...”

“I’m a Hoshidan princess! They wouldn’t take me prisoner, and I would make sure that they wouldn’t take you either!”

“Then tell me… How would you prove it to them?” Niles took hold of the princess’ wrist, before turning her around to face him. Her eye was tearing up, and she was doing her best to stop herself from crying out in frustration. It was obvious that she had no way of responding to her question though, and he could tell by the fact that her lips were quivering yet had no words leaving them. _It was a good look for a princess._

Following that, he pulled out a knife and smirked at her face turning pale at the sight of it. Unfortunately, he had no plans to use it on her. Quietly, he pulled her to behind him, before cutting into what looked like the air. Seconds later, a net fell down on the ground before them. Corrin’s eye grew wide, before she held onto his arm through shock.

“ _Th- thank you, Leo… Thank you, thank you...”_ Niles could hear Corrin mumbling under her breath, in slight shock over the fact that there had been a trap which she would have set off if she had taken a single step backwards. If he hadn’t have seen it, or if he hadn’t even been present, there was no doubt that she would have been tangled up in those ropes by now.

Once she had calmed down a few minutes later, Niles then took hold of the top of her arms and looked her directly in the eye. He found it convenient that his lost eye and her lost eye were in line when they looked at each other, but that was the least of his worries right now. “Tell me, where do you want to go? Back to Hoshido, and risk getting caught… Or go find somewhere in Nohr, and risk getting caught and having us both personally executed by king Garon, and likely also have lord Leo and Odin executed alongside us?”

Corrin’s breath seemed to catch in her throat at the mentions of executions, before she broke out of his grasp and shakily pointed in the direction she had initially been going in. She was wanting to go to Hoshido, so he guessed that he had no choice but to go along with that.

“One thing before we go though… We need to make it seem like you’ve been kidnapped. For if they send Garon’s little bloodhounds after us.”

“Wh- What? Kidnapped?! And what are bloodhounds-?!”

“Hold out your hand.” Without even giving Corrin the choice, he took hold of her right hand, as her left was still cut up from the incident on the fortress roof, before showing her the knife once more. “It’ll only sting for a moment, so you don’t _have_ to put on that timid little face, as much as I feel exhilarated by it...” He then slashed the blade across the palm of her hand, and heard her hold back a quiet gasp as she flinched.

“N- Niles, what are you doing?!” Corrin whimpered, looking at the beads of blood which were starting to pool together in her hand. “How does this make it seem like I-!”

“If you get kidnapped… Normally, something belonging to the person taken is sent or left behind by the kidnappers, and typically has something to show that they are still alive. In your case…” He rested the flat side of the blade on the blood, before looking at the amount which had gathered on the metal. Corrin was anxiously looking at the blade, to see what was going on. Before she could even realise what had happened, she felt him reach behind her. Following that, her head felt… strangely light. “Your hair, cut with a knife coated in your blood, tangled up in a net. Don’t ask how I know this sort of thing though, it’s all to do with that unsavoury past your innocence doesn’t need to hear.” He tossed the knife and the clump of her hair onto the dirtied net on the ground, before stepping over it. “Come on, princess. Might as well get you to the Hoshidans quickly…”

* * *

The sound of skin hitting skin resounded though the darkened halls of the Northern Fortress, and those roaming the halls in search of Corrin knew that the sound meant that something _bad_ had happened.

Elise was first to reach the location where the sound’s origins were, and she gasped at what she saw through the doorway. Camilla was there, as was their father. The older princess seemed as though she had been taken aback by something, and her hand was covering the side of her face. Once it was removed… The younger princess wanted to scream. Her cheek was a bright red colour, and a line of blood was starting to pour down her chin from her lip. On top of that, Camilla looked as though she was crying.

“F- Father… I told you, I did not tell Corrin to run away! She left a note, and she left the fortress herself! Oh, my sweet little-!”

All that Elise could do was wince as the sound of another slap resounded through the air, and it made her want to cry. At that moment, Leo and Xander appeared together just behind her, retainers (except Niles) all in tow. Xander was quick to notice the horror in Elise’s face, so without saying a word, he went into the room.

_Another slap._

The sound of Camilla gasping showed that she was not on the receiving end this time…

Horror coating Elise’s face. Xander angry. Camilla hurt. Father _infuriated_ . Leo began to feel guilt flooding his body. All of this had been set off by him sending Corrin out of the fortress, allowing her freedom and the chance to choose her own fate… One question was circulating through his mind: _What have I done?!_

* * *

 

“Ryoma… I have an important request for you.” Sunlight worked its way into every gap present in the Castle Shirasagi’s courtyard, with it seeming almost as though the sakura trees and even the building itself were incapable of casting a shadow. Within it, three members of the royal family of Hoshido were present. “Two of our allies were sent to the Bottomless Canyon one week ago and I have finally received a report back from them… Nohrian troops keep attempting to reclaim one of our forts there, in an attempt to put pressure on our country to fight back. I want you to assist them in keeping the Nohrians from taking the fortress… Kaze and Rinkah shall be waiting there for you.” The queen smiled almost as brightly as the sun, before walking over to the other prince present. “Takumi… You have no obligations for today, so if you wish… You may accompany Ryoma, or accompany Hinoka and Sakura. Though you may have to move quickly if you wish to catch up to them... You do not have to do either, if you-”

The prince snorted, and folded his arms. “Any chance I can take up arms against those Nohrians, I’ll take it, thanks. I’m going to go with Ryoma. I can probably shoot them all down before he even has the chance to pull out Raijinto!” He was now smirking, and giving a playful glance over to his brother. It was a chance to prove himself, and he was going to make the most of it. He wanted to prove that he was more than just Hoshido’s second prince, but also that he was worthwhile, and not a burden to the family and country.

In silence, the two Hoshidan princes prepared themselves to head out to the canyon with their retainers over the next few minutes. Takumi took less time than Ryoma, because he just needed to make sure that Hinata and Oboro had their weapons, and to make sure that the Fujin Yumi was by his side. The high prince though? He took his precious time. Raijinto had to be checked over to make sure that it was in pristine condition, and Ryoma also had to assure himself that Saizo and Kagero had a sufficient supply of shuriken and also of healing items just in case.

“So then, little brother… Are you ready for me to prove you wrong about how many enemies you can shoot in the time it takes me to draw my weapon?”

“I’m ready to prove that I was right, if that’s what you were asking. Come on!”

Ryoma couldn’t help but smile on the eagerness on Takumi’s face as he gestured for him to catch up then. It was the happiest he had seen his brother ever since the day he had been chosen by the Fujin Yumi almost two years previously… Ryoma hoped that this wouldn’t change…

_Hoped._


	3. Food and Faceless

“Unless you want to die of starvation, this is all we’ve got. It isn’t as though we have on-call butlers out here, princess,” Niles sighed, offering what was on a stick to Corrin once more, for what was about the third or fourth time. Because of the rush to slip Corrin out of the Northern Fortress under the noses of the staff and king Garon, there had been no opportunity to grab any food from the kitchens.

Corrin was quick to use her arm sore from her fall to push the stick away from her. “I said it before, and I’m saying it again! I. Am. Not. Eating. This!” She winced at the sight of Niles biting into his own food, a bird which he had managed to shoot down earlier, and turned her back to him. “They are probably dirty… And icky… And full of horrible diseases! And now you’re going to become infected, and-” She seemed to shiver at the thought of being supposedly led to the bottomless canyon by a man turned rabid because of him eating something such as _that._

Niles bit into his food once more, and shrugged his shoulders. “Guess you’re going without then. There’s no villages nearby, the berries here are poisonous, and it isn’t as though we’re equipped well enough to hunt down something bigger,” he muttered, wiping his lips as he tossed the stick aside. “When you’ve grew up the way I did, if you were lucky enough to find something to eat, you make the most of it. Of course, you never went through that, did you? Such a sheltered little princess, needing little old me to teach her the harsh reality of-!”

A foot was quick to lodge itself into Niles’ stomach before he could finish what he was saying, and the stick with his offering to Corrin was quickly snatched off him. The princess was glaring at him, yet her hands were shaking. It was obvious that she was going to attempt to eat it in order to prove that she wasn’t as sheltered as he made her out to be. It was completely unexpected to see her then close her eyes, and awkwardly bring the cooked bird close to her mouth.

She never ate it.

Within a matter of seconds, Corrin began to freak out and tossed the stick onto the ground, a thin layer of sweat forming on her forehead. Following that, she shook her head and began tearing up. As much as she was hungry, she simply could not bring herself around into eating it.

Now Niles wasn’t sure what to do. Leo had asked for him to take her somewhere safe, far away from king Garon and the Northern Fortress. They were currently in the middle of a dark forest filled with traps and vicious wild animals which were impossible to take down single-handedly, and Corrin was struggling and refusing to eat. It was bad enough that they had to go slow because the side of her body was still in a lot of pain, which had intensified once the numbing effect of Felicia and Flora’s ice had faded off about three hours after they had left. His only hope for him actually being able to get her somewhere safe _and_ alive was to either seek out any nearby places which had food and locations to hide, or to ambush anyone else who dared go through the forest.

Before he could make his mind up on what the do though, a bright streak of lightning hit the ground nearby, making Corrin squeal quietly. She had only ever seen storms from shelter, and had never actually been outside during one before then. That gave him an idea.

“There are always storms near the Bottomless Canyon… And there are supply forts at the Bottomless Canyon… Supplies mean food, and forts mean shelter.” He then raised an eyebrow at the slight confusion on the princess’ face. “And if there _is_ food and shelter there… You can pay me back for being oh so kind and _trying_ to keep you alive.” He stepped over to her, and took hold of her chin with his hand. “I just wonder what that payback will be...”

* * *

Another three enemies were shot down by a single arrow, and the shooter smirked at the sight of them falling. “So, that’s what, nineteen for me and twelve for you?” Takumi was having fun letting Ryoma know how many more Faceless he had defeated. “Actually, make that twenty for me.”

The Hoshidan high prince rolled his eyes, before swinging Raijinto once more and cutting down a few more enemies. “Perhaps now isn’t the _best_ time to be bragging, Takumi… For all we know, Kaze and Rinkah could be getting swarmed by Nohrians if we have already fought this many between us,” Ryoma beat Takumi to defeating one last enemy, before sheathing his weapon quickly. “Even though we have sent our retainers ahead, for all that we know, they may never have got to their destination.” As much as Takumi hated the pessimism, he knew that his brother could be right. Despite that, he still had his full trust in Oboro and Hinata – they would probably only allow themselves to die if it involved directly protecting him.

They were both still quite some distance away from the fort which they needed to get to at the Bottomless Canyon, meaning that they both had to make a move quickly to stop any more Nohrians from trying to cross the bridges and sending their Faceless over the border to fight. Thankfully, that was about it when it came to the threat posed by Nohrians, but if the situation got any worse with them, then there would be too many Faceless for the Hoshidan army to quell, and the safety of everyone else in the country would end up at risk. As the princes of the country, they didn’t want to take such a risk and have the burden of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of deaths upon their consciences.

It was quite a relief to have a close to clear path to reach their destination, and that straight away made both Ryoma and Takumi assume that Saizo, Kagero, Oboro, and Hinata had ended up following this path at an earlier point, and had ended up clearing it of enemies. When their surroundings began to end up more shaded and wooded, their assumptions became fact, because of the katana and naginata marks carved into the trees, and the discarded shuriken scattered all over the place.

Sunset was when the two arrived at the fort, and they found a small gathering there. Talking together just outside the fort was Rinkah, Kagero, Oboro, and Hinata, and perched on the top of the fort was Saizo and Kaze, who both seemed to be looking out as they discussed something.

Almost instantly upon the sight of the two, Oboro and Hinata dived at Takumi, expressing their relief over him arriving without so much as a scratch on his body. Kagero smiled at Ryoma. Saizo nodded to show that he was aware of his lord’s presence, before continuing to speak with Kaze.

After a short while, the two princes were aware of the entire situation at the canyon. Nohrian soldiers and mages kept arriving in waves at hourly intervals, even through the night. Many Hoshidan soldiers had been lost already, and now Faceless were starting to break through their lines of defence.

“Right, so… About how long has it been since the last attack from the Nohrians?” Ryoma inquired, folding his arms and glancing around. “It has been somewhat peaceful since Takumi and I got here, so surely an attack is incoming.”

“Apparently they are overdue an attack, lord Ryoma-!” Kagero began, before a soldier ran out of the fort over to them.

The soldier seemed to be quite shaken over something, and the look given to them by Ryoma made them quickly explain what they needed to say. “The Nohrian we captured in our previous battle has finally broken, and gave us a vital piece of information!” A moment of silence lingered, before they continued. “No more Nohrian soldiers are going to attack for the time being, king Garon has redirected them all elsewhere. An important prisoner of his has ended up escaping, and he has sent the soldiers to look for them. We know nothing more at the moment, but we are trying to find out-!”

Suddenly, there was a commotion from the top of the fort, and the two ninja up there had suddenly stood up and were looking down the canyon. “Lord Ryoma!” Saizo was quick to move from the top of the roof over to the group. “Faceless are approaching from the south. We need to move now in order to stop them from reaching Hoshidan territory.”

* * *

 

“Be quiet, princess,” Niles teased, before pulling Corrin close to him and covering her mouth. He was having fun allowing her to just squirm in his grasp, but he knew that they were in danger so she couldn’t try to break free too loudly. A group of mages were nearby, and actively summoning a group of Faceless, which seemed to be heading in the direction which they had intended to go.

Corrin ended up loosening up once she realised that Niles wasn’t going to be letting go of her at any time soon, and that ended up with her mouth being uncovered. The only way in which she shifted now was to move her head to stop her now short hair from tickling the back of her neck, which was annoying her greatly.

One last Faceless was summoned at that point, and that was when the pair began to make out a conversation between the mages and a soldier who had emerged from the woods.

“What? We have to _stop_ summoning Faceless?! That is not fair, we have almost broke through the wall of Hoshidan warriors now! After that, we can send them to bring Hoshido falling to its knees!” One mage yelled, the others yelling out in agreement.

The soldier pulled out a lance, and pointed it at the mage who was wanting to continue summoning the vile creatures. “No! We can’t risk it. Besides, Iago has said for every spell-caster and warrior under king Garon to follow a new order – search for that prisoner princess, Corrin or something like that.” It was at the mention of that when Niles’ grip grew tighter, and he ended up pulling the hood of her cape over her head just in case they were noticed from the shadows. “Not to mention quite a few Hoshidan big-shots are now at the canyon, so you’ve got practically no chance now! You must leave immediately, and be at the closest village in a day so that we know what forces we have to hunt for the stupid princess.”

“The nearest town is _two days_ away _by foot!”_

“Well, find a way to make it there in less than that.”

At that, the soldier ended up leaving, with the mages all following behind quite begrudgingly. It was only once the surrounding area was completely clear that Niles walked out into the small clearing which the mages had gathered in, and began grinning. They had left quite a lot of their supplies behind, including food, so he knew that it was best to make the most of it.

It was once he picked up a bread roll from a table that was set up there when Corrin stumbled out of the shadows. The sight of the food was more than enough to lure her out, especially considering how hungry she was after refusing to eat the bird he had offered her before. Being the tease he was, Niles held the bread roll over his head, watching as Corrin tried to jump up to take hold of it.

After a moment, Corrin gave up and made a quiet ‘hmph’ sound, and then began to search around the other objects left behind by the mages. There wasn’t much of value, with it generally just being scraps from old tomes and books which had fell apart, but one thing in particular caught her eye. A silver key, hastily tossed on the ground amongst rotting leaves. She picked it up, and looked at it for a moment.

From just behind her, Niles was watching Corrin as she looked at the object. He then noticed a closed chest in the distance, and he easily put two and two together. Quickly, he walked over to her, and in a matter of seconds, he had been able to swap the key for the bread roll. The confusion on Corrin’s face when she realised that she no longer had the key was quite the picture, but not as much as the one of delight when she realised that she was holding food.

Rolling his eyes, Niles then went over to the chest and decided to open it to find out what was inside. It took a good moment for the key to fit in, and some brute force to make it turn, but eventually he managed to get it open. “Weapons?” He reached in, and picked up a bow which happened to be inside. “It looks almost as though these are Hoshidan weapons too… This does not look like a normal bow.” Nonetheless, he stashed it away to use or sell at a later point. “Oh, and a sword, or what is it that Hoshidans call it? A katana? And it’s a forged one too,” He smirked then, picking up the blade and running his fingers down it. “It’s _so_ hard, that’ll hurt if it ends up in your body...”

Corrin had just about finished eating when she realised that Niles was speaking to himself, and then ended up walking over to him. Following that, she noticed the blade in his hands, and tugged at his arm. “Can I have that?… I mean, we might need to fight at some point...”

Niles shrugged, and then passed the katana over to her. That was when he was quite taken aback by what she did. She took hold of the weapon in the arm she had injured when sparring with Xander a few days previously, and glanced around. A lone tree in the middle of the clearing caught her attention, and then her eye focussed in on it. She was able to make a particularly deep cut into it in just a single swing, and it both scared and excited him.

“Such brutality… Oh, I _love_ it...”


	4. Bottomless Canyon

“Xander… Can I speak with you for a moment?” Leo had been restless ever since Corrin had left, the guilt lingering over his shoulders for being the one responsible for upsetting all of his siblings. At present, they were all travelling back to Windmire, thankfully staying separate from Garon, who left before them to order soldiers to find and capture Corrin once more. “It’s about… well… Corrin.”

The crown prince glanced up from a book which was resting upon his lap, and his eyes narrowed. “Quickly then… I do not wish to speak of her for too long, just in case father sends Iago to check upon us.” He had a deep purple bruise upon his face from the last time he had mentioned Corrin near their father, so Leo knew that his worries had a genuine basis.

Brynhildr was pinned against the Nohrian prince’s chest, and only the warm pulses coming off it were capable of reassuring him that this was for the best. “She… She left with Niles,” he began, watching as Xander’s face began to crease up. It was obvious that his brother was annoyed that Leo had never mentioned this earlier. “I made up the excuse that Niles was trying to locate her to make his absence seem less suspicious… Because he took her on my orders.” Leo was finding it hard to keep his straight face, which he found particularly annoying.

Xander rose to his feet, and noticed the way in which Leo’s fingers were shaking as he tried to keep hold of his weapon. On top of that, the younger of the two was failing to make eye contact with him. It was obvious that it had took a lot for Leo to even admit to doing such a thing, and that didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

“Camilla was close to sending Selena and Beruka to do the same thing. As was I with Laslow,” Leo’s eyes grew wide with shock when he heard that, before finally looking up at his brother. “Elise was begging us constantly to do so… But you beat us to it. We assumed that, because of how you remained secluded in the library, you knew nothing about her absence.” By now, Xander had put on a faint smile. “We will not let father know about what you did, but instead alter the truth. After all… Using subterfuge is a skill all of us have developed over the years, is it not?”

* * *

 

“Nohrians! Put down your weapons and surrender yourselves!” A female voice from the shadows had caught Niles and Corrin by surprise once they had reached the Bottomless Canyon, and noticed a large pile of Faceless bodies covering a natural stone bridge stretching across it. “Unless you want to meet your fate here, put them down now!”

A blade cut through the air just beside Corrin’s arm, making her turn a slight bit pale through the shock. The katana in her hands hit the ground with a large clatter, before she held onto Niles’ arm as though her life depended on it. He wasn’t so keen on her attachment, but he knew that Leo would likely have his head for allowing Corrin to be so scared, meaning that he had to put up with it.

Before anything could be said or done by the two who were trying to get to Hoshido, Corrin noticed something move past her in what seemed to be a black, purple, and green blur. In that brief moment, the katana she had been holding vanished, one of her wrists had been taken hold of, and she was forcibly separated from Niles. “Why are you trying to cross the border into Hoshido? Nohrians have no business here.” The voice seemed to be coming from the person who had took hold of her, and it was strangely calm and soothing.

Niles rolled his eye as a new person appeared from the darkness, and snatched his bow away from him. Unlike the person holding onto Corrin, this other person was easy to look at. It was a dark haired woman, wearing yellow, black, and pink on her outfit. Corrin recognised the style of outfit from the textbooks she had been made to read when she was younger – these people were Hoshidan ninjas.

“My lord told me to take her to Hoshido. That’s it.” Niles was looking both frustrated yet intrigued with the fact that they had been apprehended by Hoshidans so quickly. Corrin was confused at how he was speaking though… Why had he not used hers and Leo’s names and titles?

Now a ninja wearing red and blue emerged, behind him a different man who was obviously not a ninja, but rather a swordsman of sorts. Neither of them looked happy, but then again, it was quite hard to tell. The ninja was bearing a mask which covered all but his eyes, and one of the eyes looked as though it had been lost (Corrin began to wonder if having a missing eye was common, with him sharing that trait with both herself and Niles), and the man with the katana seemed to have quite a neutral expression on.

“Kaze, Kagero, please escort these two to the fort so that we can properly speak to them there. Saizo, inform Takumi and the others that we need room to speak to two more people coming from Nohr,” the one who wasn’t a ninja then stepped forward, and looked between Corrin and Niles. “I shall investigate this area for a moment before I return too.”

Corrin was absolutely terrified then, before feeling a slight tug on her arm indicating that it would be best for her to move. Unfortunately, that was the arm which she had hurt when sparring with Xander, and it made her quietly hiss in pain. She didn’t let the ninja holding onto her, presumably the one referred to as ‘Kaze’, hear her pain though, because she worried that it would involve them trying to carry her or something along the lines of that.

Niles couldn’t help but notice the female ninja’s hands on his own arm trying to make him move along after that, and he smirked. “Having fun feeling me up?” He then saw her face turn dark, and that made his smirk grow bigger. “Oho, I never knew that Hoshidans were so touchy-feely and frisky, this will be fun...”

The woman narrowed her eyes, before Niles felt something hard and sharp hit him in the arm and send him falling to his knees on the ground. A horrified gasp came from nearby, which he presumed was Corrin noticing him getting hit. One thing annoyed him though… He couldn’t move.

“A shuriken coated in a toxin which paralyses anything which it hits for a short while. That should keep you quiet as Kagero brings you to the fort.” The ninja in blue and red finally spoke, before he vanished, presumably to go as he had been told.

It took about ten minutes to reach the fort which the Hoshidans kept speaking about, and Corrin was shaking like a leaf when a woman and a man stepped outside. The woman had hair which was a deep shade of blue, and her face was honestly horrifying. The man with brown hair seemed a bit calmer than her, but still looked angry to some extent.

“… Lord Takumi, those _Nohrians_ Saizo mentioned are here.” The woman growled, her eyes narrowing in on Corrin’s single eye. Corrin turned pale then, and her knees felt weak beneath her. She was _scary._ Almost as scary as Jakob whenever anyone dared say anything bad about her…

A third person stepped outside then, a strange looking bow in his hand. Despite holding onto the weapon, his arms were crossed and he had a face which clearly said ‘I do not trust you, and will not trust you’. “What happened to that one?” He noticed Niles on the floor after having been dragged all the way there. “Actually, I’ll wait for Ryoma to get back before I ask anything. Oboro, Hinata, could you take them inside?”

Corrin paled when the scary-faced woman took hold of her arm, and the ninja who had been holding onto her let go. There was a lot more force involved in making her move that time. After a moment, Corrin ended up being sent into a small room in the fort, and the woman remained stood in the doorway. “You had better not try anything funny, get it? In the end, you’re all just some more Nohrian scum who deserves _nothing.”_

The door closed then, and Corrin found herself in tears. The only thing in the room were a few old, almost rotting seats, and a few lit candles. She couldn’t help but notice the state of her leg and arm after that, all because of the injuries being untreated for about two days by that point. On top of that, the bandages covering where her eye had been were now very uncomfortable, and she _had_ to take them off to prevent any more discomfort.

Cold air was quick to reach her previously covered skin, and she felt tears watering in her eye which remained because of how sore it made her feel. It was somewhat a relief knowing that Jakob, Flora, and Felicia had helped tend to it quickly after the initial injury had been obtained.

As Corrin ended up taking off the cloak and placed it over herself, the door opened, and the people called Ryoma and Takumi stepped inside. They seemed a lot less stiff than when she had first seen them both, but she wasn’t sure if that was to do with neither of them wielding weapons by that point. She had one thing on her mind though. “Is… Niles okay?”

“The man which we found you with? Yes, he is fine, just a bit cut up.” The taller of the two stated, before kneeling down before her. “What about you though? Are you injured in any way?” Corrin was shocked at that question, it made it seem as though this Hoshidan was actually quite concerned for her. She forced herself into nodding, before pulling her knees close to her body. “Where? I do not want for you to stay here in any discomfort, whether you’re from Nohr or not.”

Slowly, Corrin pointed to her eye, before holding out her arm and leg. The friendliness of this Hoshidan made it feel quite easy to speak to him. She explained what had happened a few days earlier in order to let the two who were looking at her understand why she was injured, before the Ryoma person stood up once more.

“Takumi, go and get Kaze. He should be able to help clean up her injuries so that they don’t become infected.” He then went and watched as Takumi left, before looking at her more closely. “I overheard this ‘Niles’ saying that his lord wanted you brought here… Who is his lord, and why?”

Corrin then brought her knees close to her chest then, and glanced down at the floor. “Leo… Niles is the retainer to prince Leo...” She noticed how Ryoma tensed up at the mention of a Nohrian prince. It didn’t seem as though he actually _knew_ Leo, but still… “And he wanted me to return to Hoshido t- to my family… K- King Garon tried bringing me up as one of his own children, b- but he changed his mind and decided to k- keep me as a prisoner...” She was in tears remembering what Leo had told her. “A- Apparently I belong to the Hoshidan royal family, b- but I don’t know if it’s true...”

Ryoma seemed to turn pale in the dim candle-light then, and he knelt down once more. “Are you called… Corrin, by any chance?” He had took hold of the sides of her face then, which she thought was strangely affectionate, but she nodded in response to his question anyway. Before she could ask how he knew her name, she was caught in a very tight hug. “Oh gods...” He sounded like he was in tears himself now. “Corrin… I’ve missed you so much.”

**Author's Note:**

> As I said at the beginning... This is probably crappy. Sorry about that...  
> Also, the rating may change at some point. Depends on how far I end up taking the main relationship in this...


End file.
